Archaeology: Haliburton Becomes a Super Point Guard How did the Warriors give up on him for Wiseman?

On December 8, Beijing time, before the semifinals of the midseason tournament between the Pacers and the Bucks, former Warriors general manager Bob Myers reviewed the 2020 draft on ESPN and regretted choosing James Wiseman over Haliburton.

It's not that Miles is an afterthought, the Warriors did look at Haliburton at the beginning, and they were very optimistic about him. And Haliburton is also inclined to join the Warriors, and he once said that the team he wants to go to the most is the Warriors. But unfortunately, for various reasons, the Warriors did not choose Haliburton.

Now, Wiseman has long since been abandoned by the Warriors, and he has been relegated to the fringes of the league, playing in 11 games this season with the Pistons losing all of them and having a negative plus/minus in five games. Haliburton, on the other hand, has stepped into the ranks of super point guards, and today he scored 27 points, 15 assists, and 7 rebounds to lead the Pacers to eliminate the Bucks and advance to the midseason tournament finals.

So, why didn't the Warriors choose Haliburton in the first place?

The Warriors were very bullish on Haliburton

Haliburton averaged 15.2 points and 6.5 assists per game in his sophomore season while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range. Although Haliburton's shooting posture is bizarre and questioned that he may be blocked a lot after entering the NBA, Haliburton's shooting target is extremely high. Coupled with his tall stature and high basketball IQ, he is regarded as a "ball brother" Lonzo Bol-style player.

Before the 2020 draft, the Warriors tried out Haliburton, and according to Myers, "His tryout was very good, and I and Kerr and owner Lacob all watched it at the time, and he hit a lot of shots, and we looked at each other and said, he might be a very good player." His shooting stance was weird, but he hit all the shots. Also, the players want to work with him, and some of the players are the type that a lot of people don't want to work with. ”

At that time, the Warriors were very optimistic about Haliburton, and in the Warriors' internal mock draft list, Haliburton was ahead of LaMelo Bol, the final "three-ball" of the scouting show, and the Warriors were not optimistic about the three-ball, if they chose a guard that year, they would give priority to Haliburton.

The local media of the Warriors also very much hope that the Warriors choose Haliburton, for example, the "San Jose Mercury" newspaper wrote an article to explain why Haliburton is suitable for the Warriors, the media believes that Haliburton can use his ball handling and projection to help Stephen Curry share the pressure, he is a perfect Warriors-type player, with a well-rounded style of play, height and long arms, high basketball IQ, can play the role of the second ball holder, and has the ability to shoot.

Haliburton's college mentor Prom also wants his disciple to go to the Warriors: "I want him to go to the Warriors or the Spurs, he fits the Warriors well, he can move the ball, he can play from the No. 1 position to the No. 3 position, he only cares about winning, doing the right thing, these temperaments are suitable for the Warriors." ”

Haliburton had been eager to join the Warriors

The Warriors are optimistic about Haliburton, and Haliburton is also willing to join the Warriors, and he did not resist joining the Warriors because the Warriors have Curry and Thompson. Haliburton has said he is looking forward to working with Curry and wants to be the Livingston of the Warriors.

Haliburton believes that the Warriors should pick him with the Eye Pick, saying: "I feel like I should be the top pick, I feel like the Warriors should pick me, and in my opinion, I'm the best choice for the Warriors." ”

Why did the Warriors miss Haliburton?

In fact, in the 2020 draft, the Warriors had various reasons to choose Haliburton. One reason for this is that Klay Thompson was seriously injured before the draft and was out for the season. The Warriors are missing a core guard and could have chosen Haliburton. But in the end, the Warriors chose to stick to the plan — to pick the interior.

The Warriors' choice of Wiseman, who is 2.16 meters tall and has incredible athleticism, was touched by the 2020 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Nuggets.

When Howard got into foul trouble, it was Davis who went to the No. 5 spot to play against Jokic. The Lakers nominally played a small lineup, but in fact, Davis's rise to the No. 5 position did not make the Lakers' height drop, because Davis's height reached 2.08 meters. Although Davis is a little shorter than Jokic, who is 2.13 meters, he can make up for it with his perverted athleticism.

The Warriors realized that Davis's height, athleticism and excellent interior line has become a key piece of the puzzle of modern basketball, but the Warriors look at their lineup, Looney is 2.06 meters tall and has average athleticism. Marquis Criss is very athletic, but his height of 2.06m is average, and he is weak against opponents. As for Draymond Green, he is 1.98 meters tall, and in front of the modern center, Green has a lot less advantage.

"We're too short," said one Warriors insider, "and we're not athletic by NBA standards right now." ”

The Warriors believed Wiseman could solve the Warriors' problem, and at the time, Wiseman was not only tall enough to protect the basket, but also had the athleticism to switch to opposing small guards. Despite Wiseman's lack of experience, when the Warriors run against teams with tall interiors like the Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers, the Warriors believe they won't fall behind in height and athleticism, at least.

Another reason the Warriors chose Wiseman was that the so-called Haliburton ceiling was not enough, and management would have wanted to choose the cornerstone of the future when they had the roster sign, and Haliburton was not considered to have the ability to play the role of a building block.

Of course, player development is inherently unpredictable, and no one would have imagined that Wiseman did not meet the Warriors' expectations due to injuries, ability, mentality and other problems, and Haliburton became a super point guard step by step. And, if Haliburton joins the Warriors, the league may now have one less super point guard.